No Shadow

James 1:17 has been stuck in my head the last few days. Particularly the last portion of the verse. “Every generous act and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning.”

With Him, the Father of lights, there is no variation or shadow cast by turning... What an interesting thing to say. So, God is the essence of light and things that are right. And, if so, then no matter which way He turns or directs things, they are still perfect and right. They are in full light, and light exposes things. Let's take a look at this in a larger context...

James 1:16-18
“Don't be deceived, my dearly loved brothers. Every generous act and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be firstfruits of His creation.”

I believe some of the heresies of their time were saying that God never meant for Jesus to be killed on the cross, but that He used it to His advantage. That's NOT the way God works. “By His own choice...” did He allow the death of His Son for His perfect plan. I wonder if the reason James said that there could never be any variation or shadow cast by turning, is because no matter in which light you try to turn the Gospel by, in order for it to fit what you want to believe, you can't find a shadow to support it. It is pure light, and that light will expose any impurities you are trying to place on it. There is no darkness in the plan of salvation. It may look dark at times to us. We can't understand how God could allow that to be done to His own Son, or why Jesus willingly endured what He did for us, but it is all pure. It was all right.

Have you ever looked at a very bright light for too long? Our eyes begin to develop a dark spot on it. We can't focus on pure light with our human eyes without seeing a shadow that really isn't there. That's the same way it is with God. His light does not have any darkness in it though we may see it that way at times. We must have faith in Him that He remains pure light. That's where the encouragement of others comes in. They may not have developed the same “dark” areas we have when looking at God and can help guide us through them. We are to strengthen and encourage one another. That means there are times when you need to be strengthened, so accept it. That also mean there are times when you need to be the one encouraging others. Don't shirk the responsibility. They need you.

Where are you today? Do you need to see past the spots in your eyes, or help others through theirs?